Fisher Price toy factory to close

Thursday 1 May 1997 23:02 BST

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Fisher Price toy factory to close

A toy factory is to close with the loss of 250 jobs, the victim of a decision by the US owner to cut one-tenth of its global workforce of 26,000. The closure of the Fisher Price and Spears Games plant at Peterlee, County Durham, would result in production being switched to Italy where toy output was more in line with modern youngsters' demands and more cost-competitive, said a spokesman for the parent company, Mattel. The Peterlee factory specialised in making bigger toys which were considered less fashionable with children. A Mattel spokesman said: "The way the market is going, retailers are looking for smaller, more compact toys, such as electronic games, which is the sort of operation Mattel has in Italy."